To overcome manpower shortage in automobile sector and to empower youth with vocational competence, Ministry of Human Resource Development ties up with the automobile industry to develop vocational courses for school children.

Students will soon get training in servicing, repairing and even manufacturing cars and motorbikes in schools. The ministry of human resource development (MHRD) has tied up with automobile industry to develop vocational courses for schoolchildren. This will not only make them employable as they finish school but also overcome the manpower shortage in the automobile sector.

The automobile industry will provide support for hands-on, virtual and software training. It will also collaborate with institutions by providing hardware and trainers.

“In addition to core skills, the automobile industry needs drivers, mechanics and other skilled manpower. There is a huge shortage of skilled manpower and no suitable framework is available to cater to the needs of the service and sales sectors in the automotive industry. There are new machines, there are robots, but there aren’t enough people to run them. In fact, there aren’t enough drivers to ply new heavy vehicles that are being manufactured,” HRD minister Kapil Sibal said on Wednesday.

The minister said there were more than 100 courses in the automobile sector and hinted that in future, foreign companies could set up training institutions in India to fulfill their manpower requirement locally, instead of importing workforce.

Sibal has set up a committee headed by R Seshasayee, managing director of Ashok Leyland Limited, to develop curriculum for automobile courses. The panel will submit its recommendations to MHRD within three months. “There is need to develop a system of vocational education with different levels of training starting at class IX,” he said, adding, “This should seamlessly provide multi-point entry to appropriate jobs or higher education.” Students opting for a vocational course would get a certificate, besides regular school degree.

“The students will have to complete certain number of hours for vocational courses. These courses can be run even after school hours,” Sibal said, adding he had called a meeting with all state education departments in this regard.The minister said the automobile sector had the potential to provide employment to at least 13 million people. The Centre is planning similar courses in other sectors.